Bulldogs fall to Wagner, 180-78

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Bryant University women's swimming team earned victories in the 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay, but it was not enough as Wagner College cruised to a 180-78 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Spiro Sports Center.

The Bulldogs (1-1) started and ended the meet with relay victories but were unable to generate much else against the Seahawks (1-0). Juniors Casey Ostrander (Yarmouthport, Mass.) and Brianne Dwyer (Hicksville, N.Y.), and seniors Abby Whittaker (Salisbury, Mass.) and Amy D'Olympia (Mattapoisett, Mass.) swam Bryant to a victory in the 200 medley relay in a time of 1:53.16 to begin the meet. For the second-straight night it was the underclassmen team of sophomores Taylor DeBever (Denver, Colo.) and Kaitlin Buckley (Duxbury, Mass.), and freshmen Caitlin Hanahoe (Prairie, Minn.) and Mara Valenzuela (Bridgewater, N.J.) that propelled the Bulldogs to a victory in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:41.66.

Individually, Bryant received another strong showing from Ostrander and classmate Molly Smith (Belmont, Mass.). Ostrander won the 100 back and finished second in the 200 back, and Smith swam to a second-place finish in the 200 breast. In her second-career race, freshman Samantha Hilton (Fairfield, Conn.) finished second in the 100 breast with a time of 1:12.04. Along with anchoring the 400 free relay team to its second victory in as many meets, Valenzuela earned top-three finishes in the 100 free and the 100 fly.

Bryant also experienced a first in its program history as freshman Kailey Frye (Lakeville, Mass.) became the first Bulldog diver to compete in a meet. She finished fourth in the one meter dive.

The Bulldogs travel to Cambridge, Mass., next Sunday, Oct. 23, to face Havard University.